Gender gap in STEM pathways: the role of secondary curricula in a highly differentiated school system—the case of Chile

Abstract

Background STEM fields are instrumental in increasing the technological and innovative capacity of the economy. As women are underrepresented in the STEM workforce, diverse strategies have been implemented to boost their preparedness and interest in these fields, including early exposure to academic and vocational STEM courses. Using the case of Chile’s highly differentiated school system, this paper examines the role of secondary curricula on students’ enrollment and persistence in STEM programs offered by vocational postsecondary institutions and universities. In doing so, we seek to identify whether exposure to STEM courses within the academic or vocational tracks translates into fewer gender differences in STEM higher education. Results Our results reveal that upper-secondary tracks connected to STEM courses are positively associated with enrollment in STEM higher education and, to some degree, persistence. More specifically, exposure to STEM courses in the academic track is the most effective path to boost chances of enrolling in STEM university programs but has no connection to later persistence. In contrast, applied STEM courses within the vocational tracks perform better in the case of STEM programs in postsecondary vocational institutions both in enrollment and persistence. However, this STEM pipeline significantly amplifies gender gaps as males benefit more than women from early exposure to applied STEM courses. We also found that other indirect routes, such as enrolling in STEM university programs from the vocational track with applied STEM courses, boost female participation in these programs, helping reduce gender gaps. Conclusions While secondary STEM courses attract more female students to STEM higher education, they alone are insufficient to achieve gender equality in STEM fields as gender gaps widen in the more effective routes. In highly differentiated school systems, policymakers and high school leaders should offer increased support to women interested in STEM studies and careers across all secondary tracks to boost female participation in STEM fields. At the same time, all high school students should be able to select both academic and applied STEM courses as a part of their non-mandatory curriculum.

A Systematic Review of Research on Gender Diversity in STEM Education

“…Focus Areas References Conducting research on strategies and initiatives to promote gender parity in the STEM sector (Benavent et al, 2020), (García-Holgado et al, 2020), (Gweshe & Chiware, 2023), (Reinking & Martin, 2018), (Rushton & King, 2020) Interventions targeting the modification of female students' perspectives on STEM jobs (Dönmez, 2023) Conducting a study on the differences in confidence, interest, and goals across genders in the STEM fields, and investigating how cultural and societal expectations impact women's participation in STEM (Chan, 2022) Adapting formal and extracurricular educational programs and STEM courses to attract more genders. Adapting programs to boost female STEM enrollment in specific contexts is crucial (Friedman-Sokuler & Justman, 2020), (Goreth & Vollmer, 2023), (Levine et al, 2015), (Price et al, 2019), (Sangar, 2022), (Schilling & Pinnell, 2018), http://ijlter.org/index.php/ijlter (Sevilla et al, 2023) Analyzing the influence of STEM educational programs on students' attitudes (Van Wassenaer et al, 2023) Conducting research on particular policies that have a strong likelihood of reducing obstacles encountered by women in the field of science (Greider et al, 2019) Creating and evaluating virtual STEM laboratories with the aim of engaging female students (Vergara, 2023) Conducting research on the emotional components of learning and students' attitudes toward STEM subjects (Pelch, 2018), (Zhou et al, 2019) Examining the factors contributing to disparities in gender representation in STEM fields (Delaney & Devereux, 2019), (Naukkarinen & Bairoh, 2020) Examining the impact of gender and nationality on the experiences of women in STEM fields (Lim et al, 2021) Conducting research on women's cognitive abilities, interests, beliefs, motivation, engagement, advantages, and challenges in STEM fields (Chiang et al, 2023),…”

“…(Daniela et al, 2022) Researchers globally have shown a significant amount of interest in the research fields presented in Table 1. These areas are an examination of flexible teaching programs, including both formal and extracurricular ones, as well as STEM classes with the goal of promoting gender diversity (Friedman-Sokuler & Justman, 2020; Goreth & Vollmer, 2023;Levine et al, 2015;Price et al, 2019;Sangar, 2022;Schilling & Pinnell, 2018;Sevilla et al, 2023) and emphasising the significance of making program modifications in order to increase the number of women who participate in STEM fields while taking into account certain contextual factors (Friedman-Sokuler & Justman, 2020;Goreth & Vollmer, 2023;Levine et al, 2015;Price et al, 2019;Sangar, 2022;Schilling & Pinnell, 2018;Sevilla et al, 2023).…”

Policies, Projects, and Initiatives for Sustainable Higher Education with Gender Equity: Literature Review and Case Study—Universidad de La Frontera

“…Title Cite Year A structured review of reasons for the underrepresentation of women in computing [131] 1996 Parents' and students' satisfaction with the use of information technology in government schools in Queensland, Australia [196] 2002 Successful international initiatives promoting gender equity in engineering [6] 2005 Women, ICT and the information society: global perspectives and initiatives [176] 2005 ADDRESSING THE GENDER GAP: A TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGY IN UNDERGRAD-UATE SCIENCE COURSES [85] 2008 University Leaders and the Public Agenda: Talking About Women and Diversity in STEM Fields [67] 2009 The STARS Alliance: Viable Strategies for Broadening Participation in Computing [194] 2011 Engaging Women in Computer Science and Engineering: Promising Practices for Promoting Gender Equity in Undergraduate Research Experiences [135] 2011 Underrepresented groups in gender and STEM: the case of black males in CISE [121] 2012 Mentoring for women starting a PhD: a "free zone" into academic identity [56] 2015 Encouraging Women to Become CS Teachers [159] 2015 The leadership role of college deans and department chairs in academic culture change [ Navigating a male dominated domain: experiences of female STEM students in higher education in Ireland [28] 158 Gender gap in STEM pathways: the role of secondary curricula in a highly differentiated school system-the case of Chile [30] 159…”

How Can Emerging Technologies Impact STEM Education?

“…Since there is a growing need for STEM professionals, not just the involved students but the workforce and economy as a whole may be negatively impacted by the inequity in STEM education. The inequity may be viewed in two ways-gender and digital (Sevilla et al, 2023). Due to gender bias and stereotypes, girls are underrepresented in STEM education and jobs.…”